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Am.F. band hopes to compete at nationals

I am sorry, I feel for these kids, but it seems like the AF Band is always soliciting donations to travel somewhere. I think it is great that they are doing so well, especially after the loss of their teacher, but there are only so many dollars one can afford to donate. Maybe they could try fundraisers throughout the year?

Please, Please, Please donate!!!! This is an amazing cause and we really have the fire to go to nationals. Any amount of money would help us, and we promise we will not let you down at nationals.

It is so difficult in these times to put such a financial burden on parents. Bands of America is a money making business and they want AF there for their accounts. This should not be considered as Christmas is next month. Families need time to budget and plan. There is not some big company or rich person that will pay this...

The AFHSMB is raising money to give 225 students the indescribable experience of watching thousands of hours of very hard work pay off in an incredibly emotional and rewarding way. Every band member walks off the field of a BOA competition with a sense of pride for their accomplishments that can't be found by any other means. (I marched 2006-2008) The band is not another fundraiser earning money, its not a company, its not a faceless entity, its 225 high school kids, families and a community banding together, bettering themselves, dreaming big, and giving back to their world through the wonderful gifts of music each student was blessed with. If we could give these kids, the next generation, these INCREDIBLE opportunities without spending a penny, it'd be done, unfortunately that's not possible, and they need OUR help. Most of these students are balancing honors and AP classes, music, family, and church, responsibilities on top of their marching. These kids are the best of the best. Please, we are not asking each family to donate 200,000, we are asking for lots of families to donate $10-$20. Together, we can make dreams come true.

As touching as this year has been, I agree that almost a quarter of a million dollars seems to be an outrageous amount of money for one band competition. Consider what that kind of money could do for the school itself, or charity. They just won regionals which is outstanding. Let's keep it at that and call it good. Great job to the band members and teachers. But times are tough and I don't think we need to keep putting out money for the band.

As a band we realize this is a burden to the community but becuase our show connects to so many people, we can make them feel our emotions. We want to go to indianapolis to share our show and let so many others feel and connect to our show. We want to go for Heather.We can use all the finacial help we can get right now but we will also be sacrficing as much money as we can . We are trying to pay for as much as we can on our own but I am not sure it will be enough. Please donate and help us we wont let you down.

I agree these are dedicated students, but $1,000.00+ each?? Just for one competition? Crazy.

There are a lot of "best of the bests" in the school (choir, drama, athletics, etc.) That is a lot of money (in addition to what has already been donated to the band this year) for a single competition. I think we all know they are talented, gifted and have had a difficult year. We appreciate their talent and hard work. But times are tough. Even without a BOA competition, this group will go down as champs.

Mr. Miller and the band were not even planning on attending this event until this weekend. This has put a huge burden on families. Talk about peer pressure! The emotions are high enough anyway, but to add this to the hopes of our students is too much. As a parent, I am proud of the band, but this is too much pressure, too soon on our family. I wish our school had just said "no" to start with. There would have been a lot less stress at our house over the past few days. We have other children with financial needs also. We can't just keep donating and asking our family and friends to donate more money.

I think the band is awesome and incredible. However, a quarter million dollars? How much of that goes to pay for the BOA organization. Perhaps BOA should allow them to compete with out the entry fee if BOA feels the program is so outstanding???? It will come down to a large burden to the band families that have already paid so much this year. It is not fair to spring this money request at this time of year with such short notice.

This is a great amount of money to put forward; I don't think that anyone will deny that. I am quite aghast that there are people who will say that these kids' ambitions are only valid within $ - $ price range. It is too much to ask for a dream, an ultimate musical aspiration, and complete musical experience to be given to these kids? Who is asking for hundreds of dollars from you? No one is asking for anything more than even $1 to take them that much closer. Wouldn't you do anything if this were your child chasing a dream? These kids are more than exceptional. Aside from being honor students and student athletes as musicians/artists, many are coming from downtrodden situations and struggle with grades, family, finances, and social graces. Some don't even dare to dream for any sort of prestige beyond their high school musical career. I came from an abusive home and the band was my refuge and my place where I truly was accepted and was able to fly with the beautiful musical talents given by God.

Where there is no vision the people perish. Most of us are blind. It takes leadership and resources to build character in the individuals that make up a community. It takes leaders with vision to inspire others with hope. And yes it takes money and sacrifice to build our children. Without hope, dreams, and vision where is the motivation to build our own future? How can we inspire our children to dream, to feel success, without risking failure or making sacrifices. This is not some money making scheme. It is a simple expense for an opportunity to build hope, strengthen desires for achievement, and instill in the youth a burn to unite in a cause greater than self, rise above obstacles and tackle life with courage and fortitude.

For those that know "The greatest generation show", you know that the
color guard dress like the "We can do it" props. The women who worked
to help in the war effort -- Rivitors. I want to be the kind of mom that says
so her child.... "you can do it"!!! What is it??? A belief in themselves that they can do anything they put their minds too..... Not just about band or one musical performance.... but success at whatever their hearts desire in LIFE! Not a parent that has "broke mans mentality." I can't afford it either, but one band boy raised $1,000 dollars last night in two hours, my daughter raised $300 in one hour. If you instill hope it develops and grows. Mr. Miller is a wonderful example of a teacher that does just that!!!

Dreams can be achieved without going to BOA. This group of students have already traved miles and miles this year. Sure "it takes leadership and resources to build character..." but it also takes the same people to accept that enough is enough. To teach them to be realistic and responsible. It is teaching responsibility to admit it is something we cannot afford. Does an athlete have to go to the Super Bowl to acheive his dreams? No. Sure it would be nice but not possible for every athlete.
I have seen the show and it is inspiring. But the next days come and go and so does the memory of the program. It is sad for the students thats lives only hinge on the band, as some of you have suggested. They will be in for a real shock when they graduate. This year has been a dream for the students. Until Sunday, the students accepted and believed regionals was their last competition for the year and were fine with that! Really. They don't need to exhaust us all of resources to "see their dream." There are other programs at the school too that could use our support.

If the students benefit so much personally by going to the competition, why don't the parents of each child put up the $1,000? Parents have no problem spending that much on a TV or buying their kid a car or doing a family vacation, etc. If this competition is so important for the kids, parents get your visa out and let them enjoy the experience. The kids could pay you back over the course of the year. It is the parent's of the kids responsibility to pay, not the community.

At the parent meeting last night...the point was brought up over and over by the band director and parents that the band is not out to get handouts. It was originally decided that they would not go onto Grand Nationals (even though there is no guarantee they would qualify until the final competition anyway). By doing this, the band was able to cut costs in half compared to other years. The last time they went to Grand Nationals...it came out of the families pockets as part of their dues. I respect Mr Miller's decision to keep the costs lower this year...he really did not want to be excluding those that could not "afford" it. The problem is that no one knew what this year was going to bring with it (bus accident, the effect of the show on people). Yes, if we had time...we could have held fundraisers or had payment plans to make it easier, but there was no way to know. There are those that are resourceful and can pull things off all the time...that is how most extraordinary things come about...this year has been extraordinary!

While it is a burden financially that was unexpected...the events of this band season have also been unexpected. The point was made last night at the parents meeting that people are not comfortable with handouts and that we want the kids to earn their way. The problem is that there is not time to fundraise. The decision was made at the beginning of the season to not go to Grand Nationals even if they qualified. By doing that, the band could cut its normal dues by half. I really respect Mr Miller for that because his intention was to not exclude kids that couldn't afford it because of the down turn in the economy. However, no one knew what the season would bring with the accident and turning the tragedy into a triumph kind of thing. They also didn't know how well the show would be received because of its nature. Yes, it would have been nice to fundraise all year or have payment plans, but there was no way to know. Extraordinary things can be done when resourceful people come together for one purpose, and this year definately was extraordinary.

Undoubtedly these are very talented kids. If this $250,000.00 were donated to a charity like the Food Bank of Utah they could turn it into $2,250,000.00 dollars worth of food to help the needy. There are almost 8% of the workforce unemployed right now. People are losing their jobs and homes. I read an article yesterday about suicide rising because of the poor economy. What will the kids remember and be known for? Going on a junket, having a good time, under the premise they did it for "fallen teacher" or for bringing hope to a family that sees none? This would be a good experience, but there are much better places to spend this money. True happiness comes when you trade what you want in the moment for what's best in the long run. The timing is not right to spend this money.

Give up your family Christmas gifts and Thanksgiving travels.

Ummm, this is a really challenging question. AF is amazing and their show deeply touched my heart. The ultimate sacrifice is giving up what one wants most. So much good can come from raising the $250,000 and spreading it out to the other marching band programs in the state which desperately need the funding as well. We need to remember that four Utah band programs made it to the BOA finals on Saturday night. Which says a lot for our state. My heart is with AF.

The AF band had done so much good for the community and for our future. Here's our chance to rally 'round.